7.10.2006

I realized today how much I'm forgetting as Alex is growing in front of my eyes. I've made a vow to be better about documenting all of my favorite (and not-so-favorite) things. So here goes:

Talking:He speaks! Regular words are: - Boom-ba (ball) - moo-ma (the moon in his traing book) - bay (Bailey, our dog) - Da (daddy) - Ma-ma (but only when he's hungry, tired or sick - I guess I should be flattered that he pulls out my name when his world is crashing down) - Chee-s (cheese with the "s" thrown in as an afterthought as if he's not quite sure if it goes there or not!) - Ba (back) he loves to drive his matchbox cars up and down my back - Ba (bath) he runs around yelling this when I say it's time for a bath - Du-ie (duckie) his lifetime favorite toy and his favorite picture on his bathtime stacking cups - Tru, tuh, or some version of tu-kah (truck) still his favorite object on this earth, hands down! - Ni-ni (night, night) This is what we say at bedtime and naptime. I say are you ready to go "night, night," and he toddles into his room and waits to be put in bed - Bewh (book)

Amazing phrases:Sometimes out of the blue, the child will speak full phrases (which I can never get him to repeat, of course)

- Last week he grabbed his jacket, walked to the door and announced, "Going!" - Last night while he was playing in the bathtub, I said, "Are you in the bathtub?" He clearly responded "I in ba-tuh!" (I'm in the bathtub!) I thought children weren't supposed to grasp the concept of transferring pronouns at this age. (From "you" to "I"), but both Kevin and I clearly heard it

Books:Alex LOVES to read books. He usually grabs a stack, brings them to me and plops himself in my lap. His train book has a conductor on the last page. The page reads, "The conductor announces 'All Aboard!'" with a cute picture of the conductor raising one hand in the air. All I have to ask is "What does the conductor say?" Alex raises one hand in the air and waits for me to say ALLLL ABOARRRRRRRD! He thinks this is the funniest thing ever.

After watching me put lotion on my legs mutiple times, he likes to take the lotion bottle out of the bathroom drawer. He rubs it on my leg or arm and waits for me to mimick rubbing it in. I say, "Alex, put the lotion on your belly." He rubs the bottle around and around on his belly and waits for me to rub the "lotion" in.

He loves to point to body parts. I say, "Alex, where's your hair?" and he rubs the top of his head. Body parts that he knows are: head, hair, eye(s), nose, ear(s), mouth, teeth, belly, bellybutton, toes, feet. Parts that he's learning and gets sometimes: knees, chin, forehead, cheeks, arm.

He has become determined to teach himself to walk down stairs or steps foreward. He's been doing steps for many months now. I say, "Alex, on your belly," and he turns around and crawls down on his stomach and all fours. Now, he wants to walk down foreward. He practices on a footstool in the living room that is only 4-5 inches off the floor. Most of the time he launches face first toward the carpet, but every so often, he times his balance just right. Needless to say, we're not letting him practice on stairs right now!!